A handout photo taken on February 28 and released on March 3, 2022 shows an aerial view of flooded buildings in the northern New South Wales city of Lismore from an Australian Army helicopter taking part in Operation Flood Assist 2022. Australian Defense Force / AFP
SYDNEY — Hundreds of residents in flood-ravaged Australia’s southeast were rescued by helicopter and boat after rivers rose rapidly on Tuesday, cutting off entire towns and inundating houses, highways, bridges and farms.
Emergency crews deployed more than a dozen helicopters to rescue trapped people from rooftops in the worst-hit towns in New South Wales state, officials said. More than 200 flood rescue operations were conducted in the state over the past 24 hours to Tuesday morning, while 24 emergency warnings remained.
A faster-than-expected rise in floodwaters forced officials to bring forward by two hours evacuation orders for Forbes, where the rural wheatbelt town’s 8,000 residents are battling their second major flooding in as many weeks.
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